Four Incircles in Equilateral Triangle: What Is This About?
A Mathematical Droodle

Explanation

Copyright © 1996-2008 Alexander Bogomolny

Here is a sangaku - a Temple geometry - problem in an equilateral triangle similar to another one in a square. The similarity aside, the current one is much more difficult than the other.

This is the problem #2.1.7 from [Fukagawa and Pedoe]. The problem is from an existent 1886 tablet found in the Fukusima prefecture: In an equilateral triangle ABC the lines AC'A', BA'B', CB'C' are drawn making equal angles with AB, BC, CA, respectively, forming the triangle A'B'C', and so that the radius of the incircle of triangle A'B'C' is equal to the radius of the incircle of triangle AA'B. Find A'B' in terms of AB.

The answer to the problem is

Unhappily I must confess that the equations are am able to write appear unappealing. I just could not see any shortcuts that would lead to an elegant solution.

Having no solution, I do not know whether the following observation is relevant or not: lines AA', BB', CC' touch, by the construction three of the four incircles. When the four have equal radii, the lines parallel to the former but passing on the other side of the incircle of ΔA'B'C' seem to also touch three of the four circles.

References

1. H. Fukagawa, D. Pedoe, Japanese Temple Geometry Problems, The Charles Babbage Research Center, Winnipeg, 1989

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Sangaku

1. Sangaku: Reflections on the Phenomenon
2. Critique of My View and a Response
3. 1 + 27 = 12 + 16 Sangaku
4. 3-4-5 Triangle by a Kid
5. 7 = 2 + 5 Sangaku
6. A 49^th Degree Challenge
7. A Geometric Mean Sangaku
8. A Hard but Important Sangaku
9. A Sangaku: Two Unrelated Circles
10. A Sangaku by a Teen
11. A Sangaku Follow-Up on an Archimedes' Lemma
12. A Sangaku with an Egyptian Attachment
13. A Sangaku with Many Circles and Some
14. An Old Japanese Theorem
15. Archimedes Twins in the Edo Period
16. Arithmetic Mean Sangaku
17. Bottema Shatters Japan's Seclusion
18. Circles and Semicircles in Rectangle
19. Circles in a Circular Segment
20. Circles Lined on the Legs of a Right Triangle
21. Equal Incircles Theorem
22. Equilateral Triangle, Straight Line and Tangent Circles
23. Equilateral Triangles and Incircles in a Square
24. Five Incircles in a Square
25. Four Hinged Squares
26. Four Incircles in Equilateral Triangle
27. Gion Shrine Problem
28. Harmonic Mean Sangaku
29. Heron's Problem
30. In the Wasan Spirit
31. Incenters in Cyclic Quadrilateral
32. Japanese Art and Mathematics
33. Malfatti's Problem
34. Maximal Properties of the Pythagorean Relation
35. Neuberg Sangaku
36. Out of Pentagon Sangaku
37. Peacock Tail Sangaku
38. Pentagon Proportions Sangaku
39. Pythagoras and Vecten Break Japan's Isolation
40. Radius of a Circle by Paper Folding
41. Review of Sacred Mathematics
42. Sangaku ŕ la V. Thebault
43. Sangaku and The Egyptian Triangle
44. Sangaku in a Square
45. Sangaku Iterations, Is it Wasan?
46. Sangaku with 8 Circles
47. Sangaku with Three Mixtilinear Circles
48. Sangaku with Versines
49. Sangakus with a Mixtilinear Circle
50. Sequences of Touching Circles
51. Square and Circle in a Gothic Cupola
52. Tangent Circles and an Isosceles Triangle
53. The Squinting Eyes Theorem
54. Steiner's Sangaku
55. Three Incircles In a Right Triangle
56. Three Squares and Two Ellipses
57. Three Tangent Circles Sangaku
58. Triangles, Squares and Areas from Temple Geometry
59. Two Arbelos, Two Chains
60. Two Circles in an Angle

Copyright © 1996-2008 Alexander Bogomolny